1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to dietary fiber food products and particularly to such products having not only exceptionally high levels of dietary fiber but also exceptional organoleptic properties due to high flavor content from a natural juice or juices and the like which are concentrated in or on the fiber by lyophilization.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Dietary fiber has long been recognized as an essential part of the human diet, such fiber being generally defined as those portions of plant materials normally consumed in the diet and which are resistant to digestion by enzymes produced in human digestive processes. Dietary fiber is generally considered to comprise those polysaccharides, lignins, etc. which are not digested in human digestive processes. While fiber can be considered to substantially comprise insoluble fiber usually thought of as filament-like plant materials, the term "dietary fiber" also extends to materials which are soluble in water with such materials usually being gelatinous in nature. Presently accepted dietary standards call for consumption of dietary fiber including both insoluble fiber and soluble fiber.
Benefits considered to be realized through consumption of appropriate quantities of dietary fiber include regular and healthful function of the digestive system, reduction in diseases such as diseases of the colon, diabetes, hypoglycemia, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemedia, and the like. Dietary fiber also acts to control metabolic rates and as such can actually be used as a treatment rather than as a mere dietary element. Typical quantities of dietary fiber recommended for inclusion in the human diet range from 20 to 35 grams daily. Since the usual diet in the United States apparently provides only one-third to one-half of this recommended daily quantity of dietary fiber, substantial efforts have been made especially in the relatively recent past to fortify food products such as breads and breakfast cereals in order to yield a greater quantity of dietary fiber in the diet. Additionally, snack and convenience foods have been also modified in order to provide increased dietary fiber even to the extent that so-called "health" bars such as granola bars and the like have received substantial acceptance as health foods even though the fiber content of such foods is typically less than five percent by weight. A typical granola bar weighing approximately one to two ounces usually provides less than one gram of dietary fiber. The addition of greater amounts of dietary fiber in health snacks such as granola bars and the like invariably impacts in a negative fashion the organoleptic qualities of the food product. Such food products having even minor amounts of increased dietary fiber in the form of supplements or additives result in a food product which is excessively dry and which has a taste and mouthfeel which is unacceptable. On the other hand, natural foods having relatively high levels of dietary fiber simply do not provide the desired quantities of dietary fiber in the diet due to the relatively low levels of such fiber in these natural foods and due also to the quantities of such foods which most individuals would normally consume in even a diet which is oriented toward health considerations. In spite of the large number of health food products now available to the consumer and which are purported to contain high levels of dietary fiber, a need still exists for a food product having high levels of dietary fiber and which also has a high level of taste acceptance. The present invention provides health food products capable of taking a number of forms and which exhibit extraordinarily high dietary fiber content and which have extraordinary taste appeal due to the concentration of naturally tasteful materials such as natural fruit juices and the like within a framework or matrix of dietary fiber, the consumer being enticed into increasing dietary fiber intake due to the exceptional taste of the food product itself.